Objections set aside over plea against Nawaz Sharif nomination approval

LAHORE: An Appellate Tribunal removed registrar office’s objection over a plea against acceptance of Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers from NA-130, Lahore, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Tribunal issued notice to the returning officer over approval of nomination papers of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif from Lahore’s NA-130 constituency.

The appeal has been filed by Pakistan Awami Mahaz chief Advocate Ishtiaq Chaudhry.

Earlier, the tribunal objected and returned the plea over missing certified copy of the returning officer’s order.

Chaudhry had challenged acceptance of the nomination papers of Nawaz Sharif on the grounds of his lifetime disqualification from the Supreme Court in the Panama case.

Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers from NA-130 were accepted by the returning officer, last week.

The three-time prime minister — who returned to Pakistan in October after ending a 4-year self-imposed exile in London — hopes to take a fourth shot at power, but still major legal hurdles remain in his path to contest the general elections.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan disqualified the PML-N supremo from holding public office in a landmark decision on the Panama Papers case in July 2017. Subsequently, the PML-N supremo stepped down from the prime minister office.